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# Speed up your CI/CD pipelines by caching build & runtime artifacts

Are slow dependency pulls choking your CI/CD pipelines? Discover how an intelligent local caching proxy slashes wait times by 40% while instantly blocking software supply chain attacks.

- **Speakers:** [Thijs Feryn](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@thijs-feryn)
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe
- **Published:** July 9, 2026
- **Duration:** 29:08
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100107-speed-up-your-ci-cd-pipelines-by-caching-build-runtime-artifacts

## Summary

Software supply chains are under unprecedented strain as automated CI/CD pipelines and AI-driven development surge the demand for external dependency fetching. Because modern applications are "composed and assembled and no longer written from scratch," teams continuously pull from repositories like Docker Hub, NPM, and JFrog. This repetitive fetching exposes pipelines to platform rate limits, widespread network latency, and exorbitant operational egress costs.

Implementing a protocol-aware reverse caching proxy effectively hyper-localizes dependency delivery to solve these external bottlenecks. Rather than pulling gigabytes of immutable Docker images or Go modules over the public internet, teams can route requests through an intelligent virtual registry. To respect strict access controls, the proxy performs authentication preservation: it executes a rapid preflight validation against the origin server before serving the actual payload straight from the local cache. Locating this caching layer close to execution environments—such as natively inside Kubernetes clusters or alongside self-hosted GitHub Actions runners—drastically shortens resolution intervals.

This optimized caching architecture can eliminate 20 to 40% of total pipeline wait times, significantly minimizing idle developer friction while fundamentally slashing outgoing network traffic. Beyond pure acceleration, intercepting dependency traffic creates a strategic edge layer for pipeline security. Acting as an active artifact firewall, the proxy can enforce quarantine windows and instantly block newly discovered vulnerabilities flagged by databases like OSV.dev, stopping software supply chain attacks before compromised packages ever breach internal environments.

**Keywords:** ci/cd pipeline optimization, software supply chain security, reverse caching proxy, build artifact caching, docker pull rate limits, infrastructure egress cost reduction, authentication preservation, hyper-localized caching, varnish virtual registry, npm package management, kubernetes dependency fetching, dynamic artifact firewall, self-hosted github actions runners, ai-driven development surge, osv.dev vulnerability blocking

## Chapters

1. **The fragility of modern software supply chains** (00:44) — Software composition, microservices, and rapid deployment cycles drastically increase the volume of artifacts required for application delivery.
1. **Platform pressure and rate limiting challenges** (05:27) — Centralized artifact registries face immense strain from automated workflows and generative AI, resulting in aggressive rate limits and delays.
1. **Reversing the caching model for artifact delivery** (08:18) — Utilizing an HTTP reverse caching proxy shifts focus from accelerating web traffic to optimizing artifact downloads for build pipelines.
1. **Operational and financial benefits of artifact caching** (11:34) — Localized dependency delivery reduces network latency, lowers cloud infrastructure egress bills, and mitigates downtime from upstream registry outages.
1. **Project Orca and protocol-aware virtual registries** (13:21) — Implementing a protocol-aware virtual registry enables transparent caching for standard package management commands without requiring complex workflow modifications.
1. **Hyper-localizing cache instances for deployment environments** (17:41) — Deploying cache instances directly within Kubernetes clusters or self-hosted runners drastically slashes external data transfers and developer wait times.
1. **Core architectural requirements for a virtual registry** (21:23) — An effective artifact cache must handle protocol specifics, securely preserve authorization tokens, and support multi-registry routing for maximum reliability.
1. **Implementing security controls via artifact firewalls** (23:45) — Integrating a dynamic firewall at the caching layer actively blocks known compromised packages during the deployment fetch phase.
1. **Audience questions on cache sharing and pipelines** (27:54) — A brief discussion covering cache clustering across pipelines and native integration plans for self-hosted GitHub Actions workflows.

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